In the Vosges the water comes off schist, and Distillerie Jos Nusbaumer reduces this gin with spring water from Steige filtered naturally through that rock. The distillery has stood in the Val de Ville since 1947, and Jos'Berri means Joseph's mountain in Alsatian, after the founder. Bottled at 45%.

Mountain rather than citrus is the stated intention, and the recipe follows it exactly. Around twenty plants, botanicals, wild berries and spices macerate for three weeks in neutral alcohol at moderate strength, a long soak chosen to preserve aromatic quality rather than to extract quickly. After distillation the gin rests in the cellar, is reduced with that schist-filtered water, and is cold-filtered before bottling.

The herbs shape the nose. Fennel, verbena, lemon balm and dill give a vegetal, aromatic and lightly aniseed freshness, and the combination is closer to a hillside than to a fruit bowl. Juniper occupies the centre with a resinous gin structure, which matters when the herbal material is this abundant. Then the roots take over and give the gin its real character: ginseng, ginger, gentian and liquorice, supplying bitterness, warmth, earthiness and a measured sweet-bitter depth between them.

On the palate juniper gives firmness first, then the roots bring texture. Ginger adds movement, gentian draws a clean bitter line, and liquorice softens the close without sweetening it. The final impression is long, acidulated and aniseed-led, with a slight vegetal salinity that competition tasters have noted.

Silver, Contemporary Style, World Gin Awards 2025. Neat as an aperitif or digestif shows the roots most clearly. In a long drink, a neutral Indian tonic, clear ice and a lemon peel or a small fennel frond.